Thursday, October 25, 2012

To know how to extract pure and fresh Aloe Vera Gel directly from the plant, check my article HERE. The internet has more than enough information on how to use this gel, right from incorporating it into food to making skin care and personal care recipes out of it. I will here be briefly sharing with you some of the uses I have made of this gel and my experience.

This Hair Mask can be used before shampooing or after shampooing as per your choice. This was suggested by one of my blog readers Pratibha Rangavajulla, who has great interest in reaping benefits from natural and organic products easily available around us.

Aloe Vera Gel after Shampoo hair Mask(As used by Pratibha):

Step 1: After shampoo, either towel dry or gently wring out excess water from your hair. Spread the Aloe Vera Gel into scalp and hair length and leave on for minimum 10 minutes. Rinse off with plain water.

Step 2: Run a few drops of Jojoba Oil through your towel dried hair, just like a hair serum. This will give immense shine and softness to your hair and will act as a great styling agent too. As per Pratibha, whenever she does this, her hair dry to a salon shine finish.

Aloe Vera Gel Pre-Shampoo Hair Mask:

When I first used pure Aloe Vera gel in the hair, I felt that the plant smell remained in my hair for one day. So I decided to use this pre-shampooing. Blended Aloe Vera gel has the same consistency as a shampoo and when it touches the scalp, it fluffs up a little and easily spreads into the scalp.

Rub into scalp/hair roots just like shampoo and use the remaining liquid to cover hair length. Use lavishly and leave on for minimum 10 min or more as per your choice. Rinse off with plain water (warm or cold). Shampoo as usual. You will notice immense shine and a very soothing sensation in the scalp.

MY EXPERIENCE:

I had very sensitive scalp which used to itch and burn on using hair color. I have been using this hair mask some 4 days before I color my hair and within 2 uses, my scalp is 98% healed. I applied color yesterday and there was no burning except for a very small area in the scalp. It gives a very soothing and cooling effect and is superb for summers especially. The scalp immediately feels fresh and all itching/burning is gone. My hair got an immense moisture and shine boost.

Aloe Vera Gel Shine and Volume Boost Hair Mask:

Use the same hair mask as above with the juice of half a lemon added to it. This will be comparatively runny than pure aloe vera gel and will drip a little. So wear an old shirt or shower cap. I kept for 10-15 minutes and it gave not only shine but immense volume to my hair. I did not use a conditioner nor Jojoba oil since I color my hair and the oil wears off the color.

People with freshly colored hair do NOT use the lemon as it will wash out some of the color. But you can use it a few days before you color/touch up next.

Note:

Filter out the plant fibres in the gel using a wide-pore sieve otherwise the fibres dry up on the hair strands and it becomes quite a task to remove them.

You will not feel any difference while your hair are wet. Once water dries out of hair, you will notice the shine and volume.

ALTERNATE USES:

If you don’t want to use it as a hair mask, you can mix the gel with any shampoo of your choice right at the time of shampooing. Alternatively, you can mix the pure gel with your hair conditioner right at that time and use it.

Aloe Vera Gel Other Hair benefits:

People suffering from excessive hair loss/thinning hair or any scalp infections will also benefit from these hair masks as Aloe Vera promotes hair growth and also helps regeneration of hair in bald areas on the scalp.

You can add a few drops of any essential oils of your choice to the hair mask. The internet is full of information on this so go and research on more uses.

Caution:

Like with everything else, there can be a small fraction of people to whom this plant may not suit. I have very sensitive skin and did not feel any irritation. While extracting the gel, sometimes I feel a slight scratchy feeling in my palms similar to what you feel when chopping lady fingers or any sticky vegetable. But it went away as soon as I washed my hands with water. If this gel does not suit you, please do NOT use it.

all your posts seem to be more for the women. Are hum purshon ke bare me bhi kuchh tips dijiye. I mean for short hair which dye is best. Actually I do not at all want to use dye, I wish I could leave it as it is, natural, but my family, I mean my sweet wife and sweet daughters don't allow. please suggest a way out. I am proud of my hair, I don't want to damage them.

Dear Prasanna Ji, thanks for your feedback. Honestly, I try my best to make my posts useful for both men and women and while writing anything, I never have particularly women in mind, unless I am writing about makeup, which is rare :) But I will definitely write more articles for men now. Thank you!

Regarding hair colors, you have the perfect attitude. It is just the pressure of society that is making people move towards so many chemical treatments and hair colors. I also have slight graying, but a few years from now, I would love to grow old like Nafisa Ali with her gorgeous natural gray hair.

At present, I am going to experiment with Henna hair colors and it will take a month at least before I can share my experience here. In the meantime, if you would like to experiment with a chemical hair color, do let me know here or in email and I will be happy to provide specific advise for you. I personally do not want to push people towards chemicals and if I can find something good in herbal colors, that would be truly lifechanging.

Dear Deepti, I am also a user and not a seller :) I can share the details on email. Will be doing a post on it with pictures showing results but as I am currently in the experiments stage with it, I won't be sharing the details on the blog till I have solid findings to share. For emailing me, please read the blog policy. But I will be able to reply only after Sept 1st week as I am busy.

Aloe Vera gel when used directly from the plant, is very beneficial for scalp and skin but it may cause dryness in dry skinned people in winters. More suitable to normal and oily skinned people. No question is stupid so please never think that way again. Feel free to ask anything.

Yes, you can use this for hair.Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate are anyways used as preservatives in most organic shampoos. Citric acid is also used in shampoos to adjust the pH. It won't harm your hair, rather it will condition and smoothen them.You can use on shampooed damp hair or say right after shampoo, leave on for a couple of minutes and rinse. Else you can make a hair mask with Cassia (neutral Henna) if you want to leave on for more time. That ways it won't drip. You can also add mix some of this aloe vera juice directly to some shampoo on your palm, mix and shampoo as usual.

Hope this helps :)

And yes, make sure it does not come in contact with Vitamin C. For eg, do not use if you have applied lemon to your skin or hair. Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate produce benzene on coming in contact with Vitamin C and this becomes a carcinogen.

Wow you tried it already. Here's the link to the post you are looking for: How to extract Aloe Vera Gel at Home. This post is so old, I had forgotten there are two articles and should have actually given the link up there. Will update it right now. Thank you Deepika :)

Hi Gagan,I have been experiencing a lot of hairfall since the last month. And I happen to have to aloe vera plant at my home. which my father recently bought. Would be trying the aloe vera gel mask. I really hope it works.Thanks for the review as always.

Dear Chandni. Sorry I missed replying your previous comment as I was not active on the site for quite some time.

Yes, this can be applied on oiled hair, no worries, but you will need to shampoo afterwards as this will not completely cut off the oil from the hair. In fact, I have tried aloe vera once on oiled hair. When you shampoo, it will give a good lathering effect and makes hair soft too.

For oily scalped people, this can be applied directly without having to oil your hair. I no longer use this mask as I am already on natural hair coloring from last 19 months but this mask had actually helped me when I had developed burns on my scalp from chemical hair coloring.

Hi! I just used fresh aloe vera gel on my hair coz I've been experiencing hair fall since last year. Is it normal for first timers to have more hair fall after washing off - like its new to me and i've never used this before except oiling my hair but that also doesn't help anymore :( ?

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Lifesutra By Gagan

About Me

I am a powerful mind, soaring high on the wings of creativity, supported by the strong winds of knowledge. I try, I fall, I try I succeed, I try, I experience; I experience, I learn; I learn, I share; I share, I feel happy. I am inspired by my unquenchable thirst for knowledge and my hunger to share my experiences with the world. Bad products and experiences turn me off. Hence this is my small effort to create better life experiences for others by helping them make informed choices through my product reviews.
"I choose to risk my significance,
to live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom,
and that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.”
― Dawna Markova, I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion